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70 Pounds White, 1778 issue
| Issuer | Bank of England |
|---|---|
| Year | 1778-1807 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 70 Pounds |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 1783 I Promise to pay to _ or Bearer on Demand the Sum of SEVENTY London on the _ day of _ 17_ For the Govr and Compa of the Bank of Englan[d] £SEVENTY Ent.d |
| Reverse description | The reverse is plain, unprinted white paper, consistent with the Bank of England 'White Note' issue practice of this period. |
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| Comments |
The "White Notes" — so called for their plain, unprinted reverse — were the Bank of England's workhorse instruments for high-value transactions throughout the late Georgian period. These were not notes in the popular sense; they circulated almost exclusively among merchants, attorneys, and the financial houses of the City, rarely passing through more than a handful of hands before being presented for payment and cancelled. The £70 denomination is among the more unusual in the series, sitting awkwardly between the round-figure values that dominated commercial use.
Forgery was a persistent problem with these notes during the Napoleonic Wars period, and the Bank prosecuted forgers aggressively — sometimes capitally. The design's very plainness, paradoxically, made imitation easier.